


Eternal Fadelight

by gethbecomesher



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, F/M, Solas - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 05:59:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4379921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gethbecomesher/pseuds/gethbecomesher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Solas comes back for Lavellan after finding that he is unable to keep himself away from her, only to realize that she had opted to have Cole forget him entirely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eternal Fadelight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Staleina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Staleina/gifts).



“Will it help?” asked Cole. He twisted his fingers nervously in his grasp and tapped his heel against the wooden floorboards. Shouts of raucous laughter, music and smoke drifted up into the loft of the tavern he had claimed as his space. The Chargers were getting merrily drunk over their game of Wicked Grace. Sera was teaching Maryden some of the dirtier songs she’d learned as a girl in Denerim. The tavern was, as usual, a place where people came to enjoy life. The contrast between the scene below and in front of him made Cole uneasy. He wanted to help, to fix it, to make the woman pacing restlessly around his loft beam with the same light she used to have. 

“Yes, Cole. I - I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.” Mearra Lavellan looked up at him through the thick fringe of her damp lashes. Cole shifted uncomfortably. Her eyes were dull and watery, surrounded by rings so dark they could have been bruised. He did not recognize beauty as most humans did, but he recognized anxiety and unrest all too well. 

“He was our friend. What if - I just - I’m not sure if I could reverse it once it’s been done,” said Cole. Mearra stopped her pacing and moved to kneel in front of her friend. She took one of Cole’s large hands in both of hers and peered up at his face, which was hiding beneath his curtain of white hair and his overly large hat. 

“I have thought about this, Cole. If I could handle the - the pain,” she sighed, resting her cheek on his knee. After a moment, she felt his hand stroking her hair. “But I can’t, not anymore. I can’t sleep, the dreams - they’re always nightmares. I can’t find rest or peace anywhere. There are still so many people who depend on me and I can’t - I am letting them down. You’re my last resort, Cole.” 

Cole heard the hitch in her voice even before she buried her face in her elbow. He felt her need for relief so keenly that it almost tore it out of him. He wanted to help; it was what he was for. Never before had his purpose clashed with his morals, so why should this time be any different? His principles were dedicated to his compassion, to putting an end to others pain. Mearra was not the only wounded party, he reminded himself.

“If I ease your pain, I could be causing -” 

“He’s not here!” shouted Mearra, loud enough that the chatter from downstairs lulled for a moment. “He’s gone. He’s not coming back. He’s not -” Mearra began sobbing in earnest now, and Cole slid from his seat to the floor. He gathered her in his arms and began to rock her, letting her hot tears soak the neck of his linen shirt. After a while her sobs ebbed, but she made no effort to move. Cole sat solid as a tree, his fingers tracing designs on her back, lost in thought. 

“I want to help,” he said, whispering into her ear. Mearra drew back from him, blinking in disbelief. 

“You will?”  
“If you’re sure it’s what you want,” he said. She nodded vigorously. “I need to hear you say it.” Mearra gulped and blinked, gathering her words and courage. 

“Cole, please - I need you to help me forget. Help me forget - Solas,” she said, forcing herself to say his name. 

“Then you will forget,” said Cole. Mearra wobbled slightly and gripped Cole’s shoulder to keep herself from falling over. She shook her head slightly, as if clearing a lingering vision. She stood slowly, looking around blankly. After a moment, she shrugged and smiled at Cole. 

“It’s the strangest thing. I seem to have forgotten what I came here to do,” she said cheerfully. A large yawn wracked her body and she stretched luxuriously in the sunshine that streamed through the attic window. “By the Dread Wolf I’m tired. I think I’ll take a nap before dinner.”

“You know where I’ll be, Inquisitor,” said Cole. He watched her leave, her step lighter than he had seen it in months.


End file.
